Press Release: Maloney, Scott, and Norton Request Documents on D.C. Private School Voucher Program

News Release: Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney; Rep. Bobby Scott; and DC Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton

February 25, 2020

Contacts:

Aryele Bradford (Oversight)

Stephanie Lalle (Education and Labor)

Jack Miller (Norton)

Washington, D.C. (Feb. 25, 2020)—Today, Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, the Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, Rep. Bobby Scott, the Chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor, and Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton sent a letter to Serving Our Children seeking information related to the federal private school voucher program in the District of Columbia after the Department of Education failed to provide the Committee adequate information.

“We are writing regarding the District of Columbia (D.C.) Opportunity Scholarship Program, the private school voucher scheme authorized under the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results (SOAR) Act,” the Members wrote. “We are concerned that critical protections afforded to D.C. public school students may not apply to students who participate in this program, and that the Department of Education exercises little oversight of this program.”

On March 29, 2019, then-Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Elijah E. Cummings sent a letter with Rep. Scott and Congresswoman Norton requesting information from Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on program performance, the Department’s oversight efforts, and whether students participating in this program are afforded the same rights as D.C. public school students.

In response, the Department identified only one federal civil rights law that applies to students in this program.  The Department added that it “does not have a direct relationship with participating schools or students” and “does not have specific, detailed records on every participating school.”

Instead, the Department explained that Serving Our Children, as the grantee administering the program, “works directly with the schools and families” participating in this program and “collects information” from these schools.

Today, Maloney, Scott, and Norton requested Serving Our Children produce documents and information by March 10, 2020.

Click here to read today’s letter.

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